During the summer he had sent ambassadors to
Fort Chartres on the Mississippi asking aid in fighting
what he asserted to be the battle of the French traders.
Towards the end of July the messengers had returned with
word from Neyon de Villiers, the commandant of Fort
Chartres, saying that he must await more definite news
as to whether peace had been concluded between France
and England. Pontiac still hoped; and, after his allies
had deserted, he waited at his camp above Detroit for
further word from Neyon. On the last day of October Louis
Cesair Dequindre arrived at Detroit from Fort Chartres,
with the crushing answer that Neyon de Villiers could
give him no aid. England and France were at peace, and
Neyon advised the Ottawas--no doubt with reluctance, and
only because of the demand of Amherst--to bury the hatchet
and give up the useless contest. To continue the struggle
for the present would be vain. Pontiac, though enraged
by the desertion of his allies, and by what seemed to
him the cowardly conduct of the French, determined at
once to accept the situation, sue for peace, and lay
plans for future action. So far he had been fighting
ostensibly for the restoration of French rule. In future,
whatever scheme he might devise, his struggle must be
solely in the interests of the red man.
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